5 Celebrity Diets You Should Probably Avoid

It seems that nearly every day there is a new story about some new celebrity diet trend. But just because celebrities decide to try a diet fad, doesn't mean that the fad is safe or effective. There are as many diet plans out there as there are celebrities touting them. Here are a couple of celebrity diets you should probably avoid.

The Baby Food Diet

It's rumored that many celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Aniston have used this diet to slim down, but none of them are fessing up and there are a few reasons why that may be. First, it's baby food! Who is going to admit to consuming baby food every day? There is definitely a problem with social isolation with this diet, and when someone is dieting they need support, not isolation.

But beyond this, there are some problems with this diet such as being ultra-restrictive in calories and lacking in fiber, which is largely removed with the solids that are strained out of the baby food, and protein which isn't found in significant enough quantities to support an adult's dietary needs.

The Raw Food Diet

The raw foods diet is very popular with the likes of Demi Moore, Natalie Portman and supermodel Carol Alt. While eating a diet full of raw foods may not seem like such a bad idea, in reality, it can be dangerous because the raw food diet advocates eating non-pasteurized and non-homogenized products along with uncooked meats, leading to a significantly higher risk of serious foodborne illness.

This diet will produce weight loss, but that's because this diet depends almost entirely on raw fruits and vegetables in large quantities. Because of this, it can be difficult to consume the necessary number of calories that a person needs each day since fruits and vegetables are so low in calories. The human body also needs a certain amount of protein each day and most forms of protein require proper cooking to be safe, which is something that is not allowed on the raw foods diet.

The Blood Group Diet

The blood group diet, which has been reportedly popular with the likes of Cheryl Cole and Courtney Cox, is based entirely on pseudo-science according to the British Dietetic Association. The diet advocates eating certain foods and excluding others based upon a person's blood type. However, there is no real evidence that this diet is effective at all. In fact, it can possibly lead to nutrient deficiencies. For example, this diet says that those in blood group A shouldn't eat dairy products and should consume a vegetarian diet. But any diet that advocates the exclusion of entire food groups is never good as each food group has vital nutrients that the body needs to function properly.

The Dukan Diet

The Dukan diet has become extremely popular since the Duchess of Cambridge and her mother reportedly used it to lose weight for the royal wedding in 2011. However, according to the British Dietetic Association, this celebrity diet, like the others on this list, is a bad idea. The diet works in a similar fashion to the Atkins diet, which advocates eating large amounts of protein, but the Dukan diet differs in that it also has people cut out fats as well, even the good ones.

On the surface, this might seem like a good idea, but in reality there is no solid science that points to this diet working over a long period of time. And because this diet advocates avoiding entire food groups, it is rather unhealthy. Dr. Dukan himself warns that some unpleasant side effects may accompany this diet including bad breath, constipation and fatigue. This diet has four complicated phases and is so restrictive that it can be difficult to stick to over a long period of time.

The Master Cleanse

The master cleanse diet has been around since the 1940s, but has gained popularity since the 1970s. This diet, if it can even be called a diet, advocates people forsaking solid food altogether in favor of drinking a lemonade drink and salt water. There are a number of problems with this diet and it would be deadly for a person to try and stick to this diet for more than a few days, though some versions of this diet call for it to be followed for weeks or months. A person will certainly lose weight, but only because she is slowly starving and the body is using the fat and muscle tissue in her body to survive.

This diet has virtually no essential vitamins, minerals, protein or fats that people need to survive and function daily. In addition, the salt water flush that is recommended when someone is using the master cleanse can cause severe dehydration and even death. There are even some versions of the master cleanse that encourage the use of laxatives to speed up the "detoxification" process, but this just causes the body to dehydrate faster.

The best diet is a balanced one. For those with questions about what to eat or how much, they should meet with their doctor or a registered dietician to get solid medical advice about what is appropriate for their individual situation. While many of these diets are followed by celebrities, celebrities are not doctors or experts and often these diets are used for a short period of time to prepare for a role or a photo shoot before going back to a healthier way of living. Remember, just because these celebrities have shown effective weight-loss results, doesn't make these celebrity diets a good idea.